← All eventsWelsh Valleys Trophy
Accessible fully-signed gravel sportive on South Wales valley-side forest fire roads from Glynneath — single ~56km route that climbs hard for its length, feed stations, no cut-offs. Climbing estimated. Date approximate.
A fully-signed gravel sportive with feed stations, a medal at the line and no cut-offs. Just 56km on the forest fire roads above Glynneath, in the steep-sided South Wales valleys, in late May.
Short, but it climbs hard. The gravel lifts you out of the valley floors onto the fire roads, rolls and drops, then does it again.
That's what makes it a smart step into gravel: a manageable half-day with no clock chasing you, but enough climbing to feel like a real ride.
Is Welsh Valleys Trophy for you?
- Fit road or MTB riders stepping into their first gravel sportive. Signed route, feed stations and no cut-offs take the pressure off the unknown.
- Steady climbers who ration effort. The valleys stack sustained drags, so it rewards riders who settle in rather than attack the first climb.
- Riders happy on gravel but not chasing singletrack. It's fire road and hard-packed track, so grip and gearing matter more than technical skill.
- Anyone wanting a real climbing day without a full weekend. Three to four and a half hours, done by lunch, medal and a beer at the finish.
Training plan for Welsh Valleys Trophy
A training plan for Welsh Valleys Trophy isn't a generic base build. Beina reads the event's exact demands, looks at your specific profile and the time you actually have, and maps a highly adapted plan to the start line.
- Sustained valley-side climbing: steeper, longer efforts than a rolling downland ride
- Fire-road surface where the effort is the gradient, not the technicality
- A gravel tax on power, roughly 5-10% slower than the same W/kg on road
- Damp South Wales conditions that drag on wet fire road and chill you on the tops
- Sustained gravel climbs: 3-4 x 10-20min at 82-90% FTP on real climbs
- A progressive long ride building 1.5hr up to 3hr on lumpy gravel
- An event-pace long ride, 2.5-3hr over rolling terrain with full fuelling rehearsed
- Wet fire-road handling, climbing and descending in the damp to build confidence
- Built from your current fitness and the time you actually have
- Adapts every week as Beina learns how you respond
- Syncs your sessions straight to Garmin and Wahoo
- One clear next session, never a wall of spreadsheet
